Editorial: DMV needs a better driver

Published
12:00 am EST, Saturday, January 23, 2016

Dealing with the DMV is almost as sure in life as birth, death and the winter sniffles.

Those three letters unfailingly conjure thoughts of grabbing a number and waiting in a line that might as well be in purgatory. The only sins that bring us there are a desire to register a car or get a license.

As of this week, there’s no one behind the wheel of the Department of Motor Vehicles in Connecticut, but we’re all packed together in the back traveling blind on an endless bumpy road.

It’s hard to even notice the last pothole. DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala Jr. walked away from his $160,000-a-year job Friday after a year in which he launched a new computer system intended to finally bring the department into this 16-year-old century and oversaw a program to provide licenses to undocumented immigrants.

Success could have been transformative for the state, and for his own career. Instead, Ayala seems likely to soon return to his previous gig as a social studies teacher in the Bridgeport Public Schools and we will continue to reflexively shudder at the thought of talking a number at a DMV office. The computer system tripled average wait times to 90 minutes, and police slapped drivers with unfair fines and tows because insurance verifications were backlogged. The reputation of Ayala and the DMV would actually be in better shape today if they had done nothing at all.

It’s hard to tell if the affable Ayala jumped or was pushed out of the job. Either would have been fitting. His boss, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, gave lip service to Ayala’s “unwavering dedication.” Alas, the best intentions are no match for a dearth of experience.

Hopefully, the governor accepts that Ayala was ill-suited for the position. The next appointment should have zero political connections in the state of Connecticut (Ayala had many), and deliver expertise about customer service, running a large operation, and, oh yes, perhaps have a background in the field.

In the meantime, we are without an interim commissioner, and there’s been no suggestion that anyone wanted Ayala to hang on for a transition period. It’s not an enviable task, but someone needs to be immediately put in charge — even temporarily — to pump the brakes on this runaway clunker.

Ayala pledged a few weeks ago to “make the customer whole” for losses suffered as a result of unjustified tows and fines. Action should have been taken as soon as the problem was identified to prevent any such punitive measures during the system failure. At the very least, customers should be reimbursed immediately.

The next commissioner will start with a clear to-do list: Shorten the waiting room lines and ensure computer programs are road tested before going public.

The governor needs to find a new commissioner with the right qualifications, and he needs to do it quickly. We’ve lost patience with waiting for the right number to be called.